Ticket reader

ABSTRACT

A system for processing tickets which includes a stacker for storing a plurality of tickets one on top of the other within the confines thereof, a carrier having a ticket receiver positionable below the stacker bottom to receive tickets from the stacker when the receiver is positioned below the stacker bottom, and the stacker having a plurality of projections to prevent more than one ticket from leaving the stacker when the receiver is in position to receive a ticket.

United States Patent [191 Foret et al.

TICKET READER Inventor s: Pierre G. Foret, Sudbury; John William Donohoe, Natick, both of Mass.

Dennison Manufacturing Company, Framingham, Mass.

Filed: Mar. 20, 1972 Appl. No.: 236,528

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 56,281, July 20, 1970, Pat. No. 3,689,065.

Assignee:

US. Cl 271/11, 271/5, 271/99 Int. Cl. B6511 1/06, B65h 5/18, B6511 5/22 Field of Search 271/5, l2, 13, 20-23,

271/26-32, 80, ll, 99; 235/6111 J, 61.6 R

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1934 Shomaker 271/32 Nov. 27, 1973 1,522,717 1/1925 Frost 271/32 920,698 5/1909 Wagner et a1. 271/32 Primary Examiner-Thomas J. Sloyan Attorney-Sewall P. Bronstein et a1.

[ 5 7] ABSTRACT A system for processing tickets which includes a stacker for storing a plurality of tickets one on top of the other within the confines thereof, a carrier having a ticket receiver positionable below the stacker bottom to receive tickets from the stacker when the receiver is positioned below the stacker ottom, and the stacker having a plurality of projections to prevent more than one ticket from leaving the stacker when the receiver is in position to receive a ticket.

9 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures r40 Or 41 .ers at a reading station.

TICKET READER This is a division, of application Ser. No. 56,281, filed on July 20, 1970 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,689,065.

BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION This invention is directed to a systemfor reading in formation written on a recording media, anis more particularly directed to a new and improved high speed ticket reading and sorting device.

There are many different machines available for reading relatively large, punched cards and the like and for sorting out cards carrying certain information from a batch of cards.

The most prevalent type of card or ticket reader (and/or sorter) available is one that relies upon the unidirectional movement of a card along a machine bed by the use of mechanical feelers or pushers. Such systems have been found to be quite useful particularly in cases where the card contains holes which are sensed by feel- Although the above type of card reader is quite suitablefor reading large cards, transport problems as well as reading difficulties are encountered where the cards.

are reduced in size, as for example where the size of the card or ticket is more suitably dimensionsed for affixing to merchandise (e.g., clothes) to indicate inventory and price information.

The above mentioned types of card readers are also not readily adaptable or modifiable for rapidly reading information stored ina' magnetic media carried by the card. Such types of cards or tickets containing a magnetic media are beginning to become widely used in inventory control systems, i.e. in merchandising of clothes, etc., wherein small tickets are affixed to the merchandise and then collected by the cashier for processingwhen the merchandise is sold.

,Difficulties particularly arise in accurately positioning the small card (or ticket) with respect to a magnetic readinghead in order to detect the data stored on the ticket.

It thereforebecame apparent that a new and improved ticket reader. was required for use in reading small dimensioned tickets and in particular to provide means for rapidly reading and sorting tickets contain: ing a magnetic media thereon. In addition, a new andimproved ticket reader and sorter was required which would be capable of rapidly reading information stored on a ticket andwhich would also be capable of being controlled from a computer. i T i t In view of the above requirements, this invention provides a new and improved ticket reader and sorter which broadly includes means for drawing a ticket on to a support from emasn for storing a plurality of tickets and thereaftertransferring the ticket to a reading station. I

The ticket reader and sorter of this invention also provides means for sorting the tickets depending on the information or lack of information carried by the tickets. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved ticket reader and/or sorter.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved device for. transferring a ticket from 1 means for holding a batch of tickets to one or more positions where the ticket is read and/or sorted.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide anew and improved device for receiving a ticket and for thereafter rotating the ticket to a plurality of different positions.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved means responsive to an external device (e.g. computer) which has interpreted information on a ticket carried by the device for selectively ejecting the ticket from the device.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide new and improved means for feeding tickets from stackers carrying the same onto a turret adapted to move between stations.

Still other objects and advantages will in part by obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification. The invention accordingly, comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, as well as the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others which is exemplified in the following detailed description, and] the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top view of one type of ticket suitable for use in conjunctionwith this invention;

- FIG. 2 is a top view showing the construction of the turret as well as the relationship of the various devices (e.g. reading mechanism, feed bins, etc.) positioned above the turret according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the turret shown in FIG. 2, but in more detail and withcertain parts removed;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the magnetic reading assembly used in the invention; t

FIG. 5A is a bottom view of a portion of the magnetic reading device according to the invention;

FIG. SE is a side diagrammatic view of the magnetic reading device according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a stacker positioned and an ejector for pushing a ticket from the turret onto the collector;

FIG. 7 shows a view of one of the input stackers according to the invention; I

- FIG. 8 shows a view of the position of two input stackers andthe position of means for preventing the release of tickets from one of thestackers;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram. showing means for controlling the means for preventing the release of ticketsshown in FIG. 8;

in FIG. 14.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference should now be had to FIG. 1 which shows one type of card or ticket which may be read and sorted by the machine of this invention. The ticket is shown at and includes three sections 20a, 20b and 200, which may be separated from each other. In use, the portion 20a is normally separated from sections 20b and 200 and these latter sections are collected by the cashier selling the merchandise for later processing.

It should be understood that the machine of this invention may be used for reading many different types of tickets including the one shown in FIG. 1 and whether or not the parts of the ticket are separated as long as a portion of a ticket equivalent to 20b is provided. Section 20b includes a magnetic media 21, (e.g. magnetic material tape, magnetic material coating, etc.) affixed thereto (e.g. by gluing) adapted for the storage of information thereon. In addition, section 20b is preferably provided with a hole 22 to facilitate the processing of the ticket in the machine of the invention. The hole 22 acts as a centering or aligning means in conjunction with the means for reading information on the magnetic media of the ticket. (See copending US. Patent application Ser. No. 68 l ,730, filed Nov. 9, 1967 and now abandoned, assigned to the same assignee as this application for a description of a suitable ticket). In addition, the hole 22 facilitates the stacking of tickets on a spindle of one or more of the stackers as will be more fully described in conjunction with the description which follows.

In FIG. 2 there is shown in a top view the general layout of the machine cabinet (in broken line) of the invention. A rotatable and indexable turret positioned in the cabinet and preferably flush with the top surface thereof is provided. The turret 30 is preferably in the shape of a disc having a central hub mounted on a shaft 29. The turret includes six ticket receivers 31 spaced about the top surface for positioning the ticket in the receiver and with respect to an opening or hole 33 described below. The ticket receivers 31 are preferably formed by providing a plurality of shaped recessed areas or cavities (e.g. machined or cast) as shown more particularly in FIGS. 3 and 4 and having a plurality of guide means 310. The receivers 31 are also provided with channels or fluid or vacuum directing portions 32a and 32b (preferably formed in the bottom thereof) which are positioned about an opening or hole 33 which extends through the turret. The opening 33 is provided to permit ejecting means, to be described later, to push a ticket out of the receiver and into a stacker or the like. The channel portions 320 and 32b cooperate with fluid or vacuum passages 34a and 34b formed in the turret (e.g.-by drilling holes in from the turret side and thereafter plugging the end). The passages extend inwardly towards the center of the turrent and then downwardly as shown. The passages are provided to permit suction (vacuum) to be applied through the turret from a source of vacuum (see FIG. 12) to draw or suck air out of said passages and draw a ticket from a stacker onto or into a receiver 31 of the turret and to hold the ticket on or in the receiver during the movement of the turret between stations. Positioned within the receivers 31, as shown in FIG. 2, are preferably compliant backings 36(e.g. of rubber, plastic, or the like) which are preferably shaped to encircle the hole 33.

The compliant backing is provided with a plurality of holes or openings 37 extending therethrough and which are preferably positioned above, and in register with channels 32a and 32!; so as to direct the applied vacuum. The compliant backing is preferably mounted within the receiver recess (e.g. by gluing to the bottom thereof) so that all vacuum or suction provided through the channels 32a and 32b is directed through the holes 37 and not around the sides of the compliant backing. In this manner the compliant backing in effect acts as a seal. It is also advantageous for processing tickets if the backing has a relatively high coefficient of friction so the tickets dont readily turn when positioned thereon.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the reader is shown as having six stations (numbered I-VI) between which the turret moves to position tickets and or receives tickets. At stations I and II there are provided input stackers 40 and 41 for holding tickets to be processed by the reader. The reason that two input stackers are provided is to permit continuous operation of the reader by permitting one stacker to be filled, by an operation, while the other stacker is providing tickets. It should be understood that the machine functions perfectly well with only one stacker instead of the two shown. At the bottom of the stackers there are provided downward going projections 43 for preventing more than one ticket from being carried away by the receiver. The. projections 43 are long enough to essentially act as slicer to permit only one ticket of the stack of tickets supported on top of the turret to enter the receiver and to be carried away therein. When the receiver is not present and the tickets are supported by the turret top surface, the projections 43 prevent any further tickets from leaving the stacker.

The projections are such that only one ticket may be drawn onto the receivers compliant backing when vacuum is applied to the receiver. It should also be understood that a spindle type stacker can also be used to feed tickets to the turret.

In FIG. 7 there is shown the stacker 40 or 41 having tickets positioned therein. A weight 45 is positioned in the stacker for holding down the tickets on the turret downward.

FIG. 8 shows the two stackers 40 and 41 (cabinet top supported) in a back view positioned above the turret. In order to prevent tikets from leaving one of the stackers (e.g. when it is being refilled or when both stackers are full) there is provided a rotary solenoid 48 having a shaft 49 with a wiper arm 50 attached thereto. The wiper arm 50 is adapted to move between-the bottom of the stackers 40 and 41 and the top of the turret to prevent tickets from leaving the stacker.

At station III there is provided means for reading information recorded on the magnetic storage media 21 of the ticket 20. In the preferred manner of using the tickets, information has been written on the magnetic media in one or more circular tracks about the aligning hole 22. A system for writing on tickets in circular tracks as well as a system for reading such tickets is shown in the US. Patent application of Richard F. Stucchi entitled Marking System, Ser. No. 787,294, filed Dec. 9, I968 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.

The construction of magnetic reading assembly is shown more fully in FIGS. 2, 5, 5A, 5B, 12 and 13. At 60 there is shown magentic read assembly which is adapted to move up and down in relation to the turret 30. This is accomplished by the provision of member 61 slidably movable (up and down) about a guide rod 62 positionedin support member 63 which is itself attached to the machine cabinet shown at 64. The memher 61 is provided with a rod 65 having a cam follower 66 at one end thereof. The cam follower 66 is driven by an eccentric cam 67 mounted on a shaft 68 driven through a clutch-brake arrangement 69 which is coupled to a drive motor 70.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show in more detail the construction of the magnetic read assembly 60. At 71 there is shown a disc having magnetic reading heads 72a and 72b mounted therein and adapted to rotate therewith. In the center of the disc is positioned a ticket aligning pin 73. The pin 73 is adapted to enter the hole 22 of the ticket 20 in order to position the magnetic media 21 (Le. the information tracks thereon) with respect to the heads 72a and 72b. The disc 71 is rotated by a motor 75 shown diagrammatically positioned within the head assembly 60. The shaft coupled between the motor 75 and the disc 71 is preferably constructed with a spring type coupling 76 (shown enlarged) so that the disc 71 and the pin 73 may move vertically to aid in the positioning of the ticket 20. Theelectrical connections for coupling the heads are accomplished with rotary couplings well known in the art. For additional description of a suitable magnetic head assembly reference should be had to the aforementioned US. Patent Application.

In the preferred form of the machine as presently constituted, station IV is an unused station although it should be understood that additional readers (e.g. readers adapted to read print or other information carried by the ticket, or output stackers or collectors can be provided as shown at stations V and VI to be described below.

At station V there is provided a stacker and ejector arrangement for collecting tickets depending on the information or lack of information detected at the reading station III. The stacker is shown at 80 in FIGS. 1 and 6, and the ejector or pusher is shown at 81 in FIGS. 6 and 12. The stacker 80 includes a spindle 83 attached at one end to a cover 84 adapted to fit on top of the stacker 80.

The spindle 83 is provided with a bulging nose portion 85 which is adapted to pass through the hole or opening 22 of the ticket 20 and at the same time retain the ticket on the spindle after the ticket has been pushed past the nose portion. The ejector 81 comprises a cylinder 86.(e.g. pneumatic or hydraulic) for moving an ejector head 87 from under the turret 30 and through the opening 33 of the receiver 31 against the underside of the ticket 20 positioned on the receiver. The ejector head 87 forces the ticket upwardly so that the spindle head 85 passes through the ticket hole 22. To ensure that the ticket is completely forced over the spindle head 85, the ejector head 87 is preferably provided with a bore (e.g. cylindrical) 88 which is adapted to receive the spindle head 85. Thus, as the ejector head 87 rises, theticket is lifted and forced onto the spindle head 85, and is pushed over the spindle head as the spindle head 85 enters the bore 88.

At station VI there is provided a drop-off assembly for permitting tickets which have been read to be disposed. The drop-off assembly is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2, 10, 11 and 12. The assembly comprises a cylinder 90 (e.g. pneumatic or hydraulic) for moving an ejecting head 91 through, the hole 33 of the turret andthe receiver 31. The ejecting head 91 pushes the ticket upwardly at a high rate of speed against a deflector portion (preferably curved) of a hood or chute 92 which directs the ticket so that it falls away from the turret and into a bin 93 supported by the machine cabinet 64 or a wastebasket positioned on the floor (not shown).

Reference should now be had to FIGS. 14 and 15 which shows a rotary seal which can be used in conjunction with the turret 30. The roaary seal is shown generally at and comprises a plurality of slots, each shown at 101 coupled to a plurality of passageways each shown at 102 and each adapted to be coupled to valves shown in FIG. 12. At 103 there is provided a center hole through which shaft 29 is positioned so that the turret passages 34, can be aligned with the slots 101 as the turret rotates.

Before describing the operation of the batch reader in conjunction with FIGS. 12 and 13, reference should now briefly be had to FIG. 9 which schematically shows a device for controlling the operation of the rotary solenoid 48 as well as the position of member 50 with respect to the input stackers 40 and 41. The member 50 is provided, as mentioned previously, to retain tickets within one of the stackers while the other stacker is providing tickets to the turret receivers 31. The member 50 is switched between stackers 40 and 41, when a signal is provided to the rotary solenoid 48 indicating that one of the stackers is empty and that the other (full stacker) should be permitted to feed tickets onto the turret. To accomplish the above there is provided as shown in FIG. 9 a light source and a photo (light) detector 111 associated with stacker 40 and a light source 112 and a photo (light) detector 113 associated with stacker 41. The light sources 110 and 112 are supported by the respective stackers under a sidewall thereof so as to direct a light beam upwardly towards where the ticket would normally be held within the stacker. If it is now assumed that both ticket stackers have tickets stacked therein the retainer member 50 will be either under stacker 40 or 41. No signal will be detected by the detectors 111 and 113 because tickets will be in the path of the light supplied by light sources 110 and 112. Therefore, no output signal will be provided from And circuits 115 and 116. As shown in this Figure, anOn signal is also provided to input of the And circuits 115 and'l 16, the On" signal representing a DC. voltage indicating that the batch reader has been turned on. If the stacker which is feeding tickets empties, the light beam isdetected by one of the photo detectors (e.g. 11 1) to turn on one of the And circuits (e.g.1 15) which will in turn energize the rotary solenoid to switch the member. 50 away from the full stacker so that now it can begin feeding tickets to the turret 30.

In order to prevent the member 50 from continuously moving between stackers 40 and 41 if both are empty, there is provided And circuit 117 and an inverter 118 which are coupled to And circuits 1 15 and 116. Thus, when devices 111 and 113 indicate that both stackers are empty, And circuits 115 and 116 will be prevented from providing an output signal to activate solenoid 48. Thephoto detectors 111 and 1 13 may also be connected to'an alarm or light to indicate to an operator that the stackers are empty.

Reference should now be had to FIGS. 12 and 13 which discloses the logic utilized to control the operation of the reader of this invention. Like numbers are used in these Figures to indicate devices previously described in the above description. The reader according to this invention is preferably operated under computer control, as for example a general purpose computer shown at 150 (e.g., computers sold by Honeywell, Digital Equipment Corp., and others can be utilized to provide control signals). The computer forms no part of this invention and is merely used to provide control signals to cause the reader to perform the functions previously described.

In order to rotate the turret 30 through its shaft 29, there is provided a motor (e.g. electric) 151 which operated through a vacuum operated clutch-brake mechanism 152 to drive the shaft 29. The clutch-brake may be of the type shown in U. S. Pat. No. 3,378,121, and sold by. the PG. Foret Inc, of Sudbury, Mass. Instead of a vacuum operated clutch-brake mechanism, a conventional electromechanical or other clutch-brake or motor drive can be used to intermittently rotate the shaft 29.

Coupled to and driven by the drive shaft 29 there is provided a timing plate 155 for controlling the internal operation of the reader. The timing plate of solid nonlight transmissive material has a plurality of slots 156 for permitting the passage of light therethrough. Positioned about the timing plate for deriving control signals are three pair of photo or light sensors and light sources shown at 161a and 161b, 162a and 16212 and 163a and 163b. The light source and sensor 161a and l61b are utilized to generate a position signal indicating that the turret is positioned such that each of the receivers are positioned in line with or at the stations I-IV. The light source and sensor 162a and 162b are utilized to generate a V2 Index Signal" to indicate that the turret receivers have moved substantially one half the distance between adjacent stations. The light source and sensor 163a and b are utilized to generate a I-Ialt Signal when the turret receivers are almost in position at the next station to which-they are being rotated. These sensors l6lb-l63b are stagger-positioned above or below the timing plate such that as the timing plate rotates the 5% Index Signal" will first appear as one of the slots 156 permits light to be received, thereafter the sensor 162b will detect the presence of light to generate a Halt Signal and upon the stoppage of the turret the Position Signal" will be generated by the sensor l6lb as light is received due to the motion of the slot 156. Thus the signals Position," Index, and Halt" appear sequentially, but do not (preferably) overlap in time.

In order to describe the operation of the system and the processing of one ticket through the reader, it should now be assumed that the ticket receivers 31 are each initially positioned (aligned with respect to one station) and that one of the receivers is positioned at station I under a stacker having one or more tickets positioned therein. It should also be assumed that a vacuum pump shown at 170 has been turned on and that all the electronics have been energized (power on) so as to be able to start functioning according to the presence or absence of control signals. At l71a-f there are shown a plurality of bistable multivibrators and solenoid valve arrangements (both well knwon in the art) which are coupled together to control the application of vacuum (suction) through coupling means 100 to each of the receivers 31. When an On signal appears at the input to the bistable valve, the multivibrator changes state and opens the solenoid valve to apply suction to the selected receivers 31. When an Off signal appears at the input to devices 172, the valve is closed off.

Due to the initial position of the timing plate 156, a Position signal is first generated which causes the valve 1710 to open and apply suction to draw a ticket from the stacker positioned at station I onto the receiver 31 positioned at station I. The presence of the Position" also causes the computer to provide a Drive" signal which causes And" circuit 175 to turn on thus causing bistable multivibrator 176 to switch to cause the Clutch on signal to be generated. The Clutch on signal causes the clutch-brake 152 to connect the shaft 29 to the motor 151 thereby rotating the turret 30 and the timing plate 156 clockwise. In addition, the computer applies a drive pulse to a six stage shift register comprising flip-flop 180a-l80f which initially has a bit stored therein in flip-flop 180a[e. g. T is a one (high) and T is a 0(low)]. The presence of the drive pulse causes the bit to be shifted to the next stage 180b such that T goes high and T goes low. As the timing plate 156 rotates'about half the distance between stations, the I Index signal is derived. This signal causes bistable and valve 171a to close and causes bistable and valve l7lb to open as And circuit 181a turns on thus continuously applying vacuum to retain the ticket on the receiver 31 as the receiver carrying the ticket moves between stations because of the overlap in the means 34 and 101 as the turret rotates. After the turret rotates to a point where it is almost at the next station, the Halt signal is generated. The I-Ialt signal is applied to bistable 176 to cause the Brake on signal to be applied, thus stopping the turret receiver carrying the ticket at station II. Again a Position signal is generated which now causes the receiver carrying the ticket to move to station III as the above mentioned signals reappear. And circuits 181b-18lc are provided to gate signals into the bistable and valves 171b-171f.

When the receiver 30 carrying the ticket arrives at station III (magnetic head read station) and is positioned, the next Position signal generated causes positioning of the ticket and then reading of the data stored on the ticket portion 21. The bistable and valve 1710 are operated in a manner such that as the reading device 60 moves downwardly, the valve l71c is closed to remove vacuum retaining the ticket on the receiver. This is accomplished to permit the aligning means 73 of the reading device 60 to accurately position the ticket without the interference of suction as the aligning means ortip 73 enters the aligning hole 22 of the ticket. In order to accomplish the above, the computer 150 is adapted (programmed) to recognize the third Position signal and provide two signals, the first of which Head Start is applied to a clutch-brake 182 (the same type as 152) to cause the motor to rotate the shaft 68 and cam 67. As the cam 67 rotates, the magnetic read head 60 moves downward. At the same time the computer provides a Head Start Vacuum Off Signal to And gate 186 and also the T output (which is high) from flip-flop 1800 is provided to the And gate 186. And gate 186 thus provides a signal to turn off the bistable and valve 171s (controlling vacuum) at station III. Thus as the head 60 moves downwardly, the aligning means 73 is permitted to enter the hole 22 of the ticket and align the ticket without having to overcome the suction caused by the vacuum. The motor is provided with a motor drive signal from an external power source and in the preferred embodiment is continuously running and thus the readout heads 72A and 72B are always rotating.

The shaft 68 also carries a timing disc 190 having a timing slot 191 which cooperates with a light source 193A and a photo sensor 194A to generate a Computer Read" signalto initiate reading of the magneti cally stored data on the ticket.

The Computer Read" signal is generated when the disc slot 191 has rotated 90 from its initial start position so that the slot 191 permits light from light source 193A to impinge upon photo sensor 194A. The cam 67 and the disc 190 continue to rotate, but the head remains down in reading position because of the shape of the cam which is cut such that the head dwells in reading position. At 270 of rotation the cam is cut such that the head60 begins to rise and in addition the disc 90 continues to rotate. As the disc 190 rotates, the slot 191 gets to 360 which causes afStop signal .to be generated by the provision of a light source'193B and photo sensor 1948. The Stop" signal is applied to the clutch-brake 182 to stop cam 67 motion and thus position the read head 60 at its initial position.

The signal generated by the timing disc at 90 also is applied to And circuit 197 to turn bistable and valve 1710 to reapply vacuum. In the preferred embodiment the leading edge of the slot causes vacuum to be reapplied and the rear edge of the slot 191 causes the computer to initiate reading. The usual type of leading and lagging waveform detectors are utilized.

It should be understood that the computer can be programmed to read the ticket more than one time e.g. two or three times) in the event the inforamtion read on the first reading appears to be incorrect. It has been found that second or third reading of presumably incorrect ticket considerably reduces the number of tickets rejected.

At this time, another Drive pulse is generated to move the ticket to station IV aspreviously described. Since station IV is a blank station in the embodiment shown, another Drive pulse is generated in the sam manner as previously described to position the ticket at station V. I I

Station V comprises a stacker 80 as previously described, for collecting tickets which the computer'has not been able to read properly or to collect tickets which appear to have erroneous information stored thereon. In order to store these tickets in the stacker, the computer generates a"Select Stack signal which is simultaneously applied to an And" gate 200. With the Position signal on, solenoid valve 201 opens to permit a fluid source 202 to provide fluid to operate cylidner l8 and cause member 87 to lift the ticket into the stacker'as previously described.

If the ticket 20 is not to be stacked, the ticket will proceed to station IV on the reception of the next drive signal. Station VI comprisesa drop-off. means 92 as previously described. In order to operate the drop-off cylinder 90 and the ticket pusher means 91, the computer provides a Select Drop-off signal which is simultaneously applied to an And" gate 210 with the Position signal. And gate 210 then provides a signal to open solenoid valve 211 to control the flow of fluid from source 202 into the cylinder 90 to cause the ticket to be pushed out of the receiver 30 as previously described.

When the tickets are being stacked in stacker 80, vacuum is removed at station V by the provision of a signal from an And gate 220 responsive to the simultaneous presence of signals, T from flip-flop e, Position and Select Stack. During the drop-off procedure vacuum is removed because of the presence of the Position signal at bistable and valve l7lf.

This completes a description of the operation of the reader of this invention. The reader is preferably operated in its most preferred form such that vacuum is not applied to any receiver not containing a ticket. It should be understood that a number of tickets are generally simultaneously processed although one ticket may be processed as described herein.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction(s) without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing(s) shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

We claim:

1. In a system for processing tickets or the like comprising a stacker open at the bottom and having a plurality of walls for positioning a plurality of tickets or the like one on top of the other while not preventing the tickets or the like from freely falling therepast under the force of gravity, a movable carrier positioned below the open bottom of the stacker and having at least one recessed cavity in the top surface thereof positionable to receive a ticket or the like when the recessed cavity is moved belowthe open bottom of the stacker and said carrier top surface at all other times positioned below the open bottom of the stacker to support a stack of tickets or the like confined within the stacker and prevent them from falling out of said open stacker bottom and said stacker having a plurality of projections supported by the walls thereof and extending downwardly therefrom toward said top surface of said carrier to prevent tickets supported by said top surface of said carrier from moving with the top surface of said carrier away from the stack while at the same time permitting one ticket or the like to fall into and enter the recessed cavity when the recessed cavity is positioned below the open bottom of the stacker in virtue of the distance between each projection bottom and the top surface of said carrier relative to the thickness of said ticker or the like and means for moving the carrier with respect to the stacker to periodically position the recessed carrier with respect to the stacker to receive one ticket or the like and then periodically move the top surface of the carrier into position to support the stack of tickets or the like positioned within the stacker.

2. In a system according to claim 1 in which the top surface of the carrier is planar.

3. In a system according to claim 2 in which vacuum means is provided at the bottom of the recessed cavity to help draw and hold a ticket or the like therein.

7. In a system according to claim 6 in which the top surface of the disc is planar.

8. In a system according to claim 7 in which vacuum means is provided at the bottom of the recessed cavity to draw and hold a ticket or the like therein.

9. In a system according to claim 8 in which means is provided for forcing the tickets or the like positioned in the stacker downward against the disc. 

1. In a system for processing tickets or the like comprising a stacker open at the bottom and having a plurality of walls for positioning a plurality of tickets or the like one on top of the other while not preventing the tickets or the like from freely falling therepast under the force of gravity, a movable carrier positioned below the open bottom of the stacker and having at least one recessed cavity in the top surface thereof positionable to receive a ticket or the like when the recessed cavity is moved below the open bottom of the stacker and said carrier top surface at all other times positioned below the open bottom of the stacker to support a stack of tickets or the like confined within the stacker and prevent them from falling out of said open stacker bottom and said stacker having a plurality of projections supported by the walls thereof and extending downwardly therefrom toward said top surface of said carrier to prevent tickets supported by said top surface of said carrier from moving with the top surface of said carrier away from the stack while at the same time permitting one ticket or the like to fall into and enter the recessed cavity when the recessed cavity is positioned below the open bottom of the stacker in virtue of the distance between each projection bottom and the top surface of said carrier relative to the thickness of said ticker or the like and means for moving the carrier with respect to the stacker to periodically position the recessed carrier with respect to the stacker to receive one ticket or the like and then periodically move the top surface of the carrier into position to support the stack of tickets or the like positioned within the stacker.
 2. In a system according to claim 1 in which the top surface of the carrier is planar.
 3. In a system according to claim 2 in which vacuum means is provided at the bottom of the recessed cavity to help draw and hold a ticket or the like therein.
 4. In a system according to claim 3 in which a plurality of spaced apart ticket or the like receiving recessed cavities are formed in the carrier.
 5. In a system according to claim 1 in which the carrier comprises a rotatable disc and in which said means for moving comprises means for rotating said disc.
 6. In a system according to claim 5 in which a plurality of spaced apart ticket or the like receiving recessed cavities are formed in the disc.
 7. In a system according to claim 6 in which the top surface of the disc is planar.
 8. In a system according to claim 7 in which vacuum means is provided at the bottom of the recessed cavity to draw and hold a ticket or the like therein.
 9. In a system according to claim 8 in which means is provided for forcing the tickets or the like positioned in the stacker downward against the disc. 